Event branding policy

This document defines the branding policy for events run by third parties that use SCImPULSE Foundation marks in the name or primary branding of the event. For more information on use of SCImPULSE Foundation® marks in other areas, please see our formal Trademark Policy.

You can download the form to request us a non-onerous patronage by clicking here.

Event using SCImPULSE Foundation marks

The use of SCImPULSE Foundation marks in any events run by third parties must be approved by the Board of Directors AND the Fellow(s) responsible of the relevant SCImPULSE Foundation project(s). This includes conferences, meetups, get-togethers, and any other sorts of events. Events must comply with this policy and have permission to use SCImPULSE Foundation marks in the name of the event or in any of the primary branding, including the domain name, for the event.

Event branding and event organizers may not claim to be the organizers or sole or exclusive leaders of any SCImPULSE Foundation project, nor claim to be the sole, exclusive, or primary source of information for any SCImPULSE Foundation project.

Simply presenting a talk on an SCImPULSE Foundation project requires no approval, and is very much encouraged! The Community Development Project may be able to help with this. Approval is required when the event name or primary branding features SCImPULSE Foundation marks. Thus, giving a talk on SoundSight at your local technology get-together requires no approval, while organising "An evening with SoundSight" as an event open to the public does require approval.

Anti-harassment policy

Conferences organised by third parties which use SCImPULSE Foundation marks are required to have an Anti-Harassment Policy. This policy must either be identical to the SCImPULSE Foundation Anti-Harassment Policy or be an alternative approved by the SCImPULSE Foundation Board of Directors.

Must provide open educational content

At least a portion of any training and/or technical presentations at events must be applicable to the SCImPULSE Foundation project(s) being referenced. For example, an event about Cocoa on the Alps must include some sessions or lessons that attendees can apply to an actual "terraforming/permaculture" farming project directly - not just ideological or "high-level" lessons that could not be applied to replicate or emulate our activities.

Must allow Fellows and/or Board Members to the event selection committee

Event organizers must allow a SCImPULSE Foundation Fellow and/or Member of the Board of Directors to sit on their Selection Committee. The SCImPULSE Foundation Fellow and/or Member of the Board of Directors will wear their SCImPULSE Foundation "hat", to help ensure that these guidelines are followed.

In particular, SCImPULSE Foundation Fellow and/or Member of the Board of Directors shall work to ensure that events with an open CFP or talk selection process works in a fair and unbiased manner, based on technical merit of talks selected, and inclusivity criteria. For events that have pre-selected talks or more limited technical content, SCImPULSE Foundation Fellow and/or Member of the Board of Directors can ensure that sufficient open educational content is applicable as explained in the point above.

Logos and graphics usage

Events may not normally use any SCImPULSE Foundation logos or graphics as part of their primary event branding. SCImPULSE Foundation logos may only be used to refer to the SCImPULSE Foundation projects themselves, and must be clearly set off from any of the events' own branding and logos.

If your event wishes to use a SCImPULSE Foundation project logo within your event branding, you must work with the relevant Fellow, and the Board of Directors to explicitly grant trademark and goodwill rights for the brand and event logo to the SCImPULSE Foundation.

Event profits and donations

As a non-profit organization, the SCImPULSE Foundation always appreciates donations. Community led events are not required to provide donations. Third party commercial events are welcome to provide a portion of profits as a donation to the SCImPULSE Foundation.

SCImPULSE Foundation listing as community partner

The primary website and other collateral for events must provide the SCImPULSE Foundation with the option to have SCImPULSE listed as a Community Partner, Sponsor, or other appropriate category within the event's branding style.

This is intended to ensure that the SCImPULSE Foundation as a whole has a formal recognition by the event organizers that is clear and specific to event attendees and others. SCImPULSE Foundation or its Fellow(s) can and will determine the appropriate text blurb, logo, and link back to the SCImPULSE Foundation website for this recognition, and will let you know if SCImPULSE should be listed or not for each event. Note that listings for Community Partner or the like are for the SCImPULSE Foundation as a whole, and are not typically listed for an individual project.

Must not use "SCImPULSE" and "SCImPULSE Foundation" names

Third party events may not use either the "SCImPULSE" nor the "SCImPULSE Foundation" names, nor confusingly similar names, as any part of their primary branding, nor to refer to their formats and methods. These names are reserved exclusively for the SCImPULSE Foundation and its own authorized conferences, or for specific events that are approved by the Foundation.

Steps to gain approval

Approval to use a SCImPULSE Foundation marks for your conference must be obtained in writing from the Foundation. If you have not received approval from the Board of Directors, then you do not have permission!

  1. Ensure SCImPULSE Foundation Marks are correctly attributed on your site and marketing materials (if not public yet, provide screenshots or explanations).

  2. Ensure your date doesn't clash with another SCImPULSE Foundation event. Approval will not be granted to events which clash, or are very close to another event from the Foundation.

  3. Reach out to the appropriate Fellow(s). Fellows are generally required, during both planning and the event itself, and the earlier you engage with the relevant one the easier this will be. As an absolute minimum the Fellow must approve your event through their chosen decision making process, and this decision has to be notified to the Board of Directors.

  4. Identify your main point of contact for the approval process. If possible, this should be a member of the Board of Directors

  5. Contact us with your confirmation of above to seek approval. Include details of:

    • What is the topic focus of the event?

    • Who is organising the event

    • When is the event

    • How many attendees are expected

    • How much involvement of a Fellow is there already

    • Which marks are requested

    • How would you propose that the SCImPULSE Foundation will be listed as a community partner?

    • How will the event selection work?

    • Is this for profit or non-profit?

Make sure you've done all this and have a mockup ready to show us before asking. If further information or changes are required, a representative from the Board of Directors or the SCImPULSE Foundation project in question will contact you. A decision will typically be made within two weeks of all information being available, and all attributions being present. Assuming the affected Fellow(s) have approved your event through appropriate consensus based methods and no objection from a member of the Board of Directors has been received you may proceed with your event as planned. However, please note that only explicit approval should be considered authoritative. If in doubt please request explicit approval.

Approval for events is given on a case by case basis and must be requested for each events. If you plan to repeat your event, or if you are planning recurring for-profit events, you can save time in the future by contacting us to negotiate a detailed agreement with the SCImPULSE Foundation.

Important note

Nothing in this SCImPULSE Foundation policy statement shall be interpreted to allow any third party to claim any association with the SCImPULSE Foundation or any of its projects or to imply any approval or support by SCImPULSE Foundation for any third party products, services, or events.